It was the Jaguars' first victory against Churchill in six meetings. Three of the setbacks were sweeps.

"I think we came out here focused," said Dillard, who also added a match-high five blocks. "We knew we had a job to do, and we wanted to beat them so bad.''

In moving into sole possession of second place in 26-5A, Johnson came up huge when it mattered the most.

The Jaguars (30-9, 8-2) overcame late deficits in the first and third games to prevail.

Johnson trailed 23-21 in Game 3 and was on the verge of losing its second straight game, but outscored the Chargers 6-2, fighting off a game point.

In the opening game, the Jaguars trailed 20-17, but seniors Hannah Hornsby and Analisse Shannon sparked an 8-2 run to push Johnson to the victory.

"It showed a lot of hard work and teamwork," said Hornsby, who had 16 kills. "We just really pulled together at the right time.''

Churchill (25-12, 8-3), which was paced by Deveney Wells-Gibson's 18 kills, recovered after squandering a late lead in Game 1. But it had no such luck after losing Game 3.

"I think between the third and fourth games, that's where we ran into trouble," Churchill coach Jo Anne Hultgren said. "That's where we started thinking way too much, instead of just relaxing and playing.''